Tyrone gunman found dead after killing seven people

A US gunman went house to house, fatally shooting seven people and wounding one in a small southern Missouri town before apparently committing suicide in a vehicle, authorities said.

The victims were found in four different homes in the town of Tyrone about 40 miles north of the Arkansas border. The body of the 36-year-old suspect was discovered in a neighbouring county, dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman Jeff Kinder said.

Mr Kinder did not release any information about a possible motive for the shootings or whether the gunman and the victims were connected.

The Texas County Sheriff’s office received a call at about 10.15 pm from a young woman who said she had fled to a neighbour’s home after hearing gunshots in her house. When officers arrived, they found two people dead in that home.

Officers later found five more people who were fatally shot and one injured person in three additional homes. The injured person was taken to hospital.

The body of an older woman was found in another home but she appeared to have died of natural causes, Mr Kinder said, adding: “We’re not calling her a victim at this time.”

Texas County coroner Tom Whittaker said investigators were still working at the scenes.